SANAA, 22 April 2008 (IRIN) - The Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) is working to reduce air pollution caused by vehicle emissions and thus save on associated health costs amounting to an estimated US$100 million a year in Sanaa alone.

Hussein al-Junaid, deputy minister at the MWE, told IRIN his ministry was drafting a national strategy in cooperation with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) regarding vehicular emissions, which he said were the main source of air pollution.

Al-Junaid said an international expert would visit Yemen to review the data gathered so far, but he gave no date for implementing the plan.

"After the 1990 Gulf War, thousands of Yemenis returned to their homes and brought their cars with them. A lot of the cars were very old and polluted the environment," he said.

He said the diesel used in Yemen contained impurities, making air pollution worse.

According to the UN Environment Programme, Yemen is one of the few countries in the world still using leaded petrol. There are very few lead-free petrol stations.

"Inhaling car exhaust [fumes] puts people's health at risk as they include lead. This causes several diseases like respiratory system diseases, renal failure, bone calcification, and ophthalmia," al-Junaid said.

The government has taken some steps: vehicles manufactured before 2000 are not allowed into the country and taxes on new cars have been reduced to 5 percent, he said.

A report by Fareed Shaaban from the American University in Beirut, who visited Sanaa in 2006, said the main sources of air pollution were vehicles, saws used for cutting stones, and power plants.

The report was entitled Air Pollution in Sanaa: Reasons, Risks and Solutions. It said Sanaa had 250,000 cars and five power stations.

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